OUR TREATY
Our ancestors were amongst leaders from seven nations who signed Treaty 1 at Lower Fort Garry on August 3, 1871. The Treaty was signed between the Crown (King of England) and leaders of the Treaty 1 Nations. NAME signed the Treaty on behalf of the Roseau River Anishinabe Tribe.
Our Treaty was not an act of surrender but an agreement to share, co-exist and prosper together as sovereign nations. To us, coexistence and shared prosperity meant that we did not see our Treaty as a transfer, sale or giving up of our right to be a free and sovereign nation. For our ancestors, our Treaty was a binding pact that not to surrender our rights; but rather, to confirm our right to nationhood and self-determination.
Our memory and understanding of Treaty is not found in the legalistic language written by the Crown but in what was actually said, often in Indigenous languages, at the time of the negotiations. These words and understanding were accompanied by ceremony such as smoking sacred pipes and the exchange of wampum belts which recorded the memories of the events.
On the other hand, the Crown and later settler governments have interpreted Treaties strictly within the context of the legal documents that were written, which often do not reflect the understanding of the treaty signers. The Crown and settler governments continued to consider treaties as a real estate transaction and an act of political, social and economic surrender by Turtle Island nations.
Even though colonization has disrupted our nations and harmed our people, our memory of Treaty remains strong and we remain confident in our belief that the meaning Treaty has been passed on correctly over generations since our ancestors gave their sacred word to the Crown. Both Canadian and American courts have upheld our view that treaties and statutes should be liberally construed and uncertainties resolved in favour of our nations.
Wampum Belts
When making treaties, Crown officials and Indigenous leaders observed the tradition of making treaties and recording their major features on wampum belts composed of shell beads woven into appropriate symbolic representations.
To accept a wampum belt in formal council was to agree to adhere to the principles embodied in its woven design. The wampum thereafter served to help perpetuate the memory of the treaty. The use of wampum as an instrument of treaty relationships spread widely throughout eastern North America in the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries.
History of Treaties with Europeans
Covenant Chain
Peace+Friendship Treaties
Peace+Friendship Treaties
Treaties with Europeans started when they first reached Turtle Island. Europeans sought alliances with Indigenous peoples to maintain peace and gaining access to natural resources and making gaining alliances in trade and European colonial wars. There was a formal diplomatic relationship between the Dutch and Indigenous peoples in the earlier part of the 17th century. This later became Known later as the “Covenant Chain” by the English.
Peace+Friendship Treaties
Peace+Friendship Treaties
Peace+Friendship Treaties
There is another tradition of treaty relations between the British Crown and Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) peoples in the eastern maritime regions. These treaties did not deal with land ownership or settler issues. These agreements, were made as mutual promises of peace and friendship between the parties. The agreements also guaranteed Indigenous rights to trade and the right to fish and hunt in their customary manner.
Royal Proclamation
Peace+Friendship Treaties
Royal Proclamation
After the British defeat of France, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 laid out the process for further colonization of Turtle Island. The Crown claimed “dominion” and “sovereignty” over Indigenous territories and that only the Crown could make treaties with Indigenous peoples. The king decreed that no individual person or colony could purchase territory from Indigenous peoples; instead, the British Crown was to be the essential actor in negotiating treaties.
Robinson Treaties
Robinson Treaties
Royal Proclamation
The concept of reserves was created in 1850 with the signing of the Robinson-Huron and Robinson-Superior treaties. These agreements exchanged about 50,000 square miles (129,500 km2) north of the upper Great Lakes and provided for the creation of 24 new reserves, each to be held by the Crown for the “use and benefit” of the nations whose leaders’ names and marks were on the agreements.
Numbered Treaties
Robinson Treaties
Numbered Treaties
Our Nation was amongst the first group of nations to sign a numbered treaty with the Crown. After eight days of negotiations, Treaty 1, also knows as the Stone Fort Treaty was signed on August 3, 1871. Treaty 1 was signed one year after Manitoba became a province of Canada. The numbered treaties were similar to the Robinson Treaties although the terms and expectations of the nations were very different than those signed in the east.
Modern Treaties
Robinson Treaties
Numbered Treaties
Since 1974, the Office of Native Claims (ONC) defined two types of modern land claims: specific and comprehensive. Specific land claims address Indigenous grievances failed treaty promises a and comprehensive land claims deal with questions about land title. Comprehensive claims deal with claims where title has never been ceded. The Specific Claims Tribunal (2008) has since supplanted the ONC.
Treaty One
Who Signed Our Treaty?
Our Treaty was signed on August 3, 1871. Our ancestors, signed Treaty One in the presence of representatives of the Crown and witness from our Nation who were to pass on what the saw and heard to future generations. Our leaders had the wisdom to include young people from our Nation who would carry the memory of that event to the future.
- Understanding Our Treaty: Our Treaty was based on trust, respect and equality. The Crown and our ancestors came together to forge a future of equal and shared prosperity.
- Our Rights After Treaty: Our ancestors signed our Treaty in good faith and relied on the Crown's Honour. Ever since signing, our Treaty has been violated and the Crown and its successors have failed to live up to their Treaty obligations. Our rights remain intact and many promises made by the Crown remain unfulfilled.
- Restoring Our Rights: Even though we say our rights are intact and unneeded, we remain in an enduring struggle to realize the promise of our Treaty and the shared prosperity it envisioned. Our Treaty partners have enjoyed full benefits while we have fallen far behind. We will continue our struggle and use all means available to us to restore our rights as full and equal partners to ur Treaty,
